Domestic Fuel Oil

[robbie]

Is it correct that this is in effect 'Red Diesel' in France?? I guess it would thereby run in the diesel engines we have

Just curious, i am sure it is just as illegal over there as it is in the UK

[Gluestick]

Correct.

For example, supplying Red Diesel in France in Bidons (Containers) is interdit.

You can use it to run off road activities, such as powering a standby genny, running your big ride-on tondeuse; but not in your car, van or cammion!

Some do, of course...............................................

From an engineering aspect, running a modern high speed diesel on Fioul would not improve it, as the specification is not high enough.

No problem with older slow-revving, long stroke non-turbo engines such as I used to have in my old boat, a twin Ailsa Craig where you could almost hear the pistons going up and down.

 

[robbie]

I was actually thinking of it the other way round. I always carry a jerry can (20ltrs) of extra diesel in my car when I travel down, just in case. When I was down in Nov, the heating tank was very very low and i was concerned I wouldnt be able to get fioul in time before it run out.

Would it have been fine if I had put the 20ltrs of car fuel in the domestic heating tank as a temp measure. I know the cost of the fuel is higher but it would have kept us warm as a last resort.

Fortunately on this occasion, the guys delivered the next day and we were fine.

[Gluestick]

If you google heating oil and then Diesel, you'll see that they are both almost the same; how the extra additives in road diesel would behave in a pressure-fed boiler I have no real idea.

If the viscosity is about the same, then the fuel would vapourise and burn OK.

Heating oil has to simply match the jet design size, to ensure correct burn..

 

 

[Dave&Olive]

hi ok

 to this post

From an engineering aspect, running a modern high speed diesel on Fioul would not improve it, as the specification is not high enough.

No problem with older slow-revving, long stroke non-turbo engines such as I used to have in my old boat, a twin Ailsa Craig where you could almost hear the pistons going up and down

 maybe you are wrong here ,  when lidle  had   a promo on sunflower oil at 0.35 € ' @ ltr  last summer I just used to pour it straight into the tank of my tubo dog b`s engine .... it`s still goin strong  ,you do need to change the oil and filter at say 5000 km because there is no detergent in the oil  , and the central heating ....!!!!!  the house smells like a chip shop .... red stuff for that

[robbie]

doesnt help me to find out if I can run the heating on the higher grade diesel.

I know the veggy oil works in the car, I have tried it...

[Gluestick]

Knowing the horrendous cost of repairing diesels, particularly turbo diesels, Dave I would not take such a chance.

One of the other problems is that diesel acts as a lubricant for the injector pump and the pistons too.

Veggie oil would not have the right filming action, I doubt.

How many miles/K did you cover?

Robbie: I did Google this a bit, as all my reference books on fuels are out of date and things change.

French red diesel seems about the same as UK heating oil (we used to call it burning oil and that's what I used to buy for the garage heater).

Check the viscosity on normal pump diesel and also for red: check the chemical composition: they are different.

And then suck it and see. You'll soon know if it is no good as the boiler flame will not burn correctly: red tinged and erratic, rather than consistent.